


Merely Sleeping

by sunflowerbright



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-27
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-27 02:24:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/657024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerbright/pseuds/sunflowerbright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Mulan's eyes slid closed, Aurora realized she had stopped noticing the beating drum of her own heart for the first time since it had been put back in her chest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merely Sleeping

They do not get very far on the first day. Aurora kept feeling the thrumming inside of her chest and couldn’t quite get her legs and her body to move properly. She wanted to run and scream and leap around in joy, and she wanted to sit back down on the ground and just stay there until the world stopped spinning.

Nothing quite like _literally_ getting your heart back.

The woman who had ensured that was equally tired and flummoxed, excited about the new goal they had – _Phillip, Phillip, they had to rescue Phillip_ – yet worn out and exhausted. She’d sworn to protect Aurora, and even with Snow White and Emma’s help, she’d nearly failed in keeping her oath. The last few days since the princess’ awakening had been a blur of action, and the cold feeling in her chest would still not quite go away.

“Maybe we should head for the lake,” Mulan heard herself say, stepping closer to Aurora. The girl’s face looked pale, though not as pale as it had been, and there was a new light in her eyes, almost frantic in its intensity: if it was because of her returned heart or their newfound mission Mulan did not know. Perhaps a little bit of both.

“You want to… to see if they’re dead?” Aurora asked, her voice small. There was no need to ask who ‘they’ were. Snow and Emma had become their friends, even through all the disagreements and hardships. “You think…”

“No,” Mulan interrupted her. “They’re alive. I know they are. But… I’d like to check. Just in case.”

_You want to check if Cora and Hook survived_ , Aurora thought, but did not say _. And you want to find out if we need to hide from them or if we… if we can convince her to help us. With magic._

The very thought of coming near Cora again send shivers down Aurora’s spine, but she did not voice her doubts, because a part of her had already become so used to following Mulan’s experience in this terrible waste that used to be their land, and the other part… the other part felt oddly safe, and still invincible, the steady drumming in her chest a constant reminder of what she had endured and survived.

Thanks to Mulan. With that in mind, she reached a hand forward, gently touching the slightly-singed sleeve of the other woman’s clothes, brown fabric peeking out under strong armour. There was a mark that looked to be already healing there, a wound made from Cora’s fire now already fading and Aurora absently noted that they now matched.

“You heal very quickly,” she said. “But we should probably rest as soon as possible.”

Mulan nodded. “The lake is not far. We can make it before nightfall, and to a group of caves nearby if Cora and Hook are still around.”

Aurora thought of what felt like hours upon hours, waiting in that prison for Mulan to come back (or maybe not come back, maybe she would stay there forever, chained up and heartless, under Cora’s thrall, a slave to the whims of a madwoman), and wondered if they even had the same perceptions of ‘not far away’ (probably not), but she only nodded and stood up again, wrapping her cloak more tightly around her and following as Mulan started walking.

Always following.

 

*

 

The lake was deserted. Not a drop of water looked to be left, and no Snow White and Emma, no Hook and no Cora. Aurora identified the feeling inside of her as relief, even as Mulan was frowning and looking around, picking up a sword from the sand and a few arrows left behind. Aurora sat down, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight up, and she found herself constantly glancing behind to see if anyone else was there.

But they were seemingly alone at the lake. It was only her, and Mulan, striding around in silence looking for whatever it is she was looking for. It was as unsettling, the two of them alone there, as it was comforting.

“Do you think there is anyone else out there? Out here?” Aurora found herself asking, her voice sounding too loud and clear after the long silence: but Mulan had walked far away, and she was not sure if the warrior would be able to hear her.

“I don’t know,” Mulan said, still looking down, still distractedly walking around.

“What are you looking for?”

At that her head snapped up, dark eyes settling on her companion. “Water,” she said. “They say the water of this lake can bring back that which is lost. It was dried out, but Cora brought it back. And now it’s dried out again. But we only need a drop.” At that her voice was suddenly fervent, passionate and fiery, like Aurora knew it could be, but like she so rarely hears it. “Just one drop might help us bring Phillip back.”

They look for hours, before giving up as darkness descends. No use looking (for what isn’t there) when you cannot even see.

 

*

 

At least this cave was more comfortable than the last one (the dungeon, actually, as it were), and that is a sad thought indeed – she used to be a princess, and now she was rating caves from semi-comfortable to dear-god-my-back-will-never-be-the-same-again.

At least now she was warm, safe from the howling wind and tucked into new-found blankets. There was an even bigger source of warmth lying next to her, Mulan’s leg pressed against hers through the layers of blankets and clothes and her hand and fingers visible even in the dark, curling close to both of their faces. Aurora wondered if Mulan could feel Aurora’s breath hitting her bare skin, but if she could, she did not complain about it or even twitch.

Suddenly uncomfortable and very aware that neither of them was asleep yet, she found her voice again.

“He tried to teach me how to fight, once,” Aurora said, whispering this time, because the darkness was pressing down around them and they were so very close – there was no need to speak in normal tones, not when Mulan could probably hear the beating of Aurora’s heart, still jumping frantically, as if testing itself out now that it had been returned to its rightful place. “Phillip, I mean. It was just after I’d told him about Maleficent, about what she had done to my mother. We were just friends, we didn’t know about the betrothal or anything, though we loved each other very much. And he got as scared as I used to be, back then. I was always scared.”

“So he taught you to fight,” Mulan said, her voice a bit darker as she relaxed and sleep approached. It wasn’t filled with disinterest or any hints of jealousy or maybe even scorn, as Aurora had half-expected. It was wistfulness and something akin to admiration.

“Tried being the main word,” Aurora smiled slightly. “I was not very good at it. Not with a sword, and especially not with a bow and arrow. I managed to chop a few blocks of wood once, before my nurse caught us and was properly scandalized. That was no way for a princess to behave, apparently.”

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t be,” Mulan mumbled, and Aurora was uncertain if she was even meant to hear the comment. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, eyes searching for the faint outline of the other woman.

“It made me feel better, though,” she continued. “I knew I wouldn’t be much of a match once Maleficent came for me, but… at least I’d tried. At least I wouldn’t give up without a fight.”

And then suddenly the darkness wasn’t comforting anymore, it was closing in on them. “Of course,” she said, her voice itself nearly choking her as it came out. “I ended up going quite willingly.” _Pathetic fool that I am._

“You sacrificed yourself to keep everyone safe!” She nearly jumped at the sound of Mulan’s voice, raised loud in the stillness of the cave, demanding and authoritative. “Don’t… don’t belittle yourself like that. What you did was very brave, as brave as walking into battle with a sword in your hands.”

The wind was howling outside, a swooping sound as it hit the crooks and crevices of the stones. Aurora could almost imagine it dancing, as she laid in stunned silence. Her heart felt like it was nearly jumping right back out of her chest.

“Thank-you,” she whispered and Mulan reached forward, her fingers curling closer to the soft skin of Aurora’s cheek.

 

*

 

They do not get very far the next day either. The next day there was Ogres nearby and they had to hide in the woods, waiting for when the path forward is safer.

If only they knew what path to take.

But Mulan would not be idle long, and before she even knew what was going on, Aurora was standing up with a long stick in her hands, balancing on the uneven forest-ground.

“Ummm,” she muttered, staring at Mulan who was right across from her, holding a stick of her own. “What…”

“I trust you remember some of the basic techniques that Phillip showed you,” she said. “But just in case, we’ll go over it again, shall we?”

They were halfway through the lesson when Aurora realized that what Mulan was doing was not out of boredom or because she wished to get rid of Aurora, get rid of the burden of ‘protecting her’ – she thought maybe Mulan hasn’t really looked on it as a burden for a while now. Maybe it was because this was something that linked them together, even stronger than Phillip and Mulan’s promise, because if Aurora learned this, then she could watch out for Mulan as Mulan watched out for her.

The thought made her all the more determined and that day she ended up bruised and battered and aching all over. But smiling.

“You did well,” Mulan said to her when they were finished, sitting around the fire they had just dared to make, huddled in a partly hidden clearing and eating whatever they could find for dinner. Aurora had gotten used to the constant pain in her stomach, never having enough food. It was drowned out by the still consistent drumming of her heart.

“I did awful,” Aurora snickered, allowing herself another small smile. Mulan frowned at her words.

“Considering the fact that you are not used to handling a sword, you did well. Under the circumstances.”

That was high praise coming from Mulan, and considering that she knew her talents was in diplomacy and tracking and self-sacrifice (apparently), and certainly not in hacking and swinging with a sword, Aurora would take whatever she could get.

She volunteered to take the first watch, telling her friend that she still had trouble sleeping, and she is certain that Mulan must be as tired as Aurora felt, because the other woman agreed almost right away.

She laid herself right beside the princess, the folds of her cape and blanket brushing the edges of Aurora’s dress. If she reached over she could touch Mulan’s hair.

She doesn’t move at all throughout the night.

 

*

 

Mulan was injured the next day, falling down a cliff as they tried to escape from a horde of Ogres who had stumbled upon their makeshift-camp. Aurora had to drag them both to safety – into another cave, of all places, this one damp and muddy, but still better than being eaten by Ogres.

She was not worried, not really, quickly bandaging the wound by tearing up strips of her own cloak and getting some bread and water into her friend, but then Mulan started getting delirious and talk to her in a language she does not understand.

“Phillip,” she said, her voice only slightly clearer, her tone heavily accented in a way it hadn’t been in years. “Phillip, it’s the left road. If we take the right road… it’s the left road.”

Aurora blinked down at Mulan, a lump in her throat, tightness in her chest. The warrior’s skin was scalding hot, her eyes glassy from the fever that was taking hold. _When Mulan’s eyes slid closed, Aurora realized she had stopped noticing the beating drum of her own heart for the first time since it had been put back in her chest._

 

*

 

Aurora had meant to stay up and keep watch, both on the lookout for Ogres (and other nasty things) and to make sure that Mulan’s condition didn’t worsen, but she ended up halfway taken by exhaustion, sleeping and waking in fits and starts, flashes of burning rooms and water rolling down the sides of the cave, Mulan’s hot skin and cold trembling.

Aurora had nightmares that made her wish she was back in the red room again.

Dawn came and Mulan had gotten a little better, her fever was down and the wound did not look infected when Aurora gingerly changed the bandage. She got the warrior to drink some more water, and then suddenly she was staying awake, eyes clear again.

“I’m sorry,” Mulan said. “I was careless.”

“No, it’s fine,” Aurora muttered, not wanting to admit how worried she had been. “You’ll be fine.”

“But just in case I’m not,” Mulan continued. “ _Just in case…_ I wanted you to know that… I’m very glad to have met you. You’ve proven yourself a… a good and true and loyal friend and I couldn’t wish for… for a more…”

She lapsed into silence, lost for words, only to find Aurora’s hand reaching out to gently touch her shoulder.

“You don’t have to explain anything,” she said.

“No,” Mulan’s voice was low, but strong. Her eyes locked with Aurora’s. “But I want to.”

Aurora could not tell you who had moved first, but maybe it was her, leaning down to press her lips against Mulan’s, the warriors hand fisted in her collar, pulling her closer. The kiss was sweet and salty at the same time and so _warm_ , but not burning, not scorching flame like she had become so used to (and the marks on her arms itched just thinking about it and she wondered if Mulan’s scars did the same when she thought of how she had received them, countless battles and countless wounds), just… warm.

She fell asleep with her hands clasped around another’s, holding tightly.


End file.
